DEWAN Rakyat deputy speaker Azalina Othman Said today called de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan out for his remarks that the cabinet will advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on when to end or extend the emergency.

Azalina said Putrajaya should not be shifting the goalposts on when the emergency should end.

“If that is the case (that the cabinet will advise the King), what’s the point of forming an independent special committee to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong under section 2(1) of the Emergency Ordinance 2021?

“Stop shifting the goalposts!” she said in a tweet.

The former law minister also tagged Takiyuddin.

Under section 2(1) of the ordinance, the 19-member independent committee has a sole duty – to advise the Agong on when the emergency should end.

Soon after the emergency was declared, Putrajaya announced the formation of a 19-member committee to advise the King on when the emergency should end.

Former chief justice Arifin Zakaria chairs the committee, which has met several times since its formation but has been silent on what it had discussed.

Taikyuddin earlier today said the cabinet will advise the King on whether or not the emergency should be extended.

He said that upon acting on the cabinet’s advice, the King had agreed on the emergency proclamation to combat Covid-19, as announced by Putrajaya in January.

“Whether or not the emergency will end on the said date (Aug 1) should not have arisen,” he said.

“The cabinet will continue with its responsibility to advise the King regarding the emergency and will be done after taking into account all factors, including public safety, social aspects and the national economy.”

Takiyuddin was responding to a Malay Mail’s report yesterday, quoting director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who said only the King can decide on whether to extend the emergency. 

According to the report, Noor Hisham said once the emergency is lifted, there will have to be three by-elections and the Sarawak state election. 

““Once we revoke the emergency ordinance, we will have to conduct three by-elections and the Sarawak state election as we do not have the power to stop the elections under the constitution,” he was quoted as saying in the report. – June 12, 2021